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Healthcare
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Physical Activity: A Powerful Weapon to Public Health Strategy
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Physical Activity: A Powerful Weapon to Public Health Strategy

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2277

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ana Pereira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Educação, Departamento de Ciências e Tecnologias, Estefanilha, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
Interests: physical activity; prescription of physical exercise; training; sport; older people; quality of life
Dr. Luis Leitão

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sciences and Technology Department, Superior School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
Interests: physical activity; human health; older adults; strength; crossfit; biomechanics of sport and physical activity; exercise physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Regular physical activity contributes to better performance in health profile and is important for human development throughout the entire lifespan. There is strong evidence for the beneficial effects of physical activity and individual prescription of exercise on health, in the areas of all-cause mortality and neurocognitive health. In addition to its beneficial effects, physical activity can also be associated with impaired mental health, such as “excessive exercise” and “overtraining syndrome”. This relationship can also translate the health status between exercise and mood, important for social demand and quality of life. Through the economic field, it is also well established that physical activity is the better intervention to be cost-effective in public health. For health-enhancing physical exercise must be controlled via all the insights of the methodology of training because physiological parameters change. In this case, the prescription should be adequate and appropriate to improve public health benefits taking to account the increase in physical activity.

This Special Issue of Healthcare seeks to explore various aspects related to physical activity as a powerful weapon for public health strategy. We welcome original epidemiology or clinical and experimental research, short reports, and reviews leading to the advancement of knowledge of the impact of physical activity and exercise on health, as well as a potentially effective cost-effective intervention during lifespan.

Dr. Ana Pereira
Dr. Luis Leitão
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • prescription
  • physically active learning
  • tissue oxidation
  • sports physiology
  • exercise referral scheme

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 715 KiB  
Article
The Impact of 8 Weeks of Combined Physical Exercise Training on SIRT3 and mTOR in Lymphocytes, and on Lipid Peroxidation
by Jorge Pinto Soares, Ricardo Cardoso, Vanessa Almeida, Ana Fátima Pereira, Amélia M. Silva and Maria Paula Mota
Healthcare 2024, 12(3), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030350 - 30 Jan 2024
Viewed by 870
Abstract
The sirtuins (SIRT) protein family and the mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) are intracellular molecules that have been involved in the regulation of several biological processes, as well as in various aging-related processes. This pilot study, in small scale, aimed to analyze the [...] Read more.
The sirtuins (SIRT) protein family and the mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) are intracellular molecules that have been involved in the regulation of several biological processes, as well as in various aging-related processes. This pilot study, in small scale, aimed to analyze the effects of an 8-week physical exercise program on SIRT3 and mTOR levels in lymphocytes, as well as on lipid peroxidation in middle aged and older men. A total of 9 participants aged between 56 and 73 years were enrolled in an 8-week physical exercise program comprising cardiovascular and high-intensity interval training. The program involved three sessions per week, each lasting 45–60 min, conducted on non-consecutive days. Tests were conducted before and after the experimental period (pre- and post-training). Assessments included a vertical jump, 20 m velocity, ball throwing, and an aerobic capacity test. Lipid peroxidation (MDA) was measured in plasma as an oxidative stress biomarker. Additionally, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3/β-actin) and mTOR (mTOR/β-actin) levels were measured in isolated lymphocytes extracted from venous blood. Following the exercise training period, our results demonstrated a significant improvement in aerobic capacity (pre-training: 615.4 ± 45.3 m; post-training: 687.2 ± 34.6 m; t = −2.521; p = 0.012) and 20 m velocity (pre-training: 4.6 ± 0.5 s; post-training: 4.3 ± 0.3 s; t = −2.023; p = 0.04). Concerning blood variables, there was a significant decrease in mTOR levels (pre-training: 0.857 ± 0.593; post-training: 0.214 ± 0.097; t = −2.547; p = 0.011), while no changes were observed in SIRT3 (pre-training: 0.608 ± 0.404; post-training: 0.516 ± 0.390; t = 0.533; p = 0.594) and MDA (pre-training: 8420 ± 4615; post-training: 8800 ± 3163; t = −0.533; p = 0.594). The notable reduction in mTOR levels in lymphocytes following the 8-week physical exercise program suggests a potential role of exercise in modulating immune cell dynamics, particularly in middle-aged and older individuals. Furthermore, the exercise regimen resulted in improvements in physical function, including enhanced aerobic capacity and walking velocity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity: A Powerful Weapon to Public Health Strategy)
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11 pages, 4208 KiB  
Article
Effects of Moderate Exercise Training on Cancer-Induced Muscle Wasting
by Ana Cristina Corrêa Figueira, Ana Pereira, Luís Leitão, Rita Ferreira, Paula A. Oliveira and José Alberto Duarte
Healthcare 2023, 11(19), 2652; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11192652 - 29 Sep 2023
Viewed by 860
Abstract
Background: Muscle wasting is a common phenomenon in oncology and seems to be attenuated by exercise training. The aim of this study is to determine the degree of aggressiveness of cancer-induced muscle wasting in two different phenotypic muscles. It will also determine whether [...] Read more.
Background: Muscle wasting is a common phenomenon in oncology and seems to be attenuated by exercise training. The aim of this study is to determine the degree of aggressiveness of cancer-induced muscle wasting in two different phenotypic muscles. It will also determine whether exercise training can attenuate this muscle dysfunction. Methods: Fifty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups: two breast cancer model groups (sedentary and exercise) and two control groups (sedentary and exercise). Breast cancer was induced by 1-methyl-1-nitrosoureia (MNU). After 35 weeks of endurance training, animals were sacrificed, and gastrocnemius and soleus muscles harvested for morphometric analysis. Results: In sedentary tumor-bearing animals, a significant reduction in cross-sectional area was found in both muscles (p < 0.05). Interstitial fibrosis was significantly higher in the gastrocnemius muscle of the sedentary tumor-bearing animals (p < 0.05), but not in the soleus muscle. In the gastrocnemius of sedentary tumor-bearing animals, a shift from large to small fibers was observed. This cancer-related muscle dysfunction was prevented by long-term exercise training. Conclusions: In sedentary animals with tumors, the gastrocnemius muscle showed a very pronounced reduction in cross-sectional area and a marked degree of interstitial fibrosis. There was no difference in collagen deposition between tumor groups, and the soleus muscle showed a less pronounced but significant reduction in cross-sectional area. These contrasting results confirm that cancer-induced muscle wasting can affect specific types of fibers and specific muscles, namely fast glycolytic muscles, and that exercise training can be used to improve it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity: A Powerful Weapon to Public Health Strategy)
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